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I’ve been writing about Edmonton’s food scene since 2008. Consistently, I run into entrepreneurs who would be impressive in any business setting, and there are certainly more lucrative pursuits. But sheer love of hospitality keeps these talented folks in restaurants, to our great benefit.

So it is with Rob Filipchuk of The Glass Monkey Gastsropub. For 13 years before he opened the Lendrum-area restaurant in 2013, Filipchuk owned a wine store. This week, I asked him, jokingly, if he’d rather be back in the booze business during COVID-19. Filipchuck replied that his favourite business was one that had been open 10 years, with all the bugs worked out and systems flowing efficiently.

COVID-19 hits restaurant business: "If you've got a problem, give it to a restaurant owner," says local entrepreneurBack to video

He wasn’t far from that goal with The Glass Monkey when COVID-19 hit. Now, Filipchuck is back at the beginning, constructing a new business model from the wreckage of the old. While the situation is beyond stressful, it’s also instructive. The food entrepreneurs who can pivot quickly during COVID-19 may be the ones that make it.

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Throughout this pandemic, I am going to watch for the Rob Filipchucks of the city — and they are already sprouting — and tell you about them. Because Edmontonians must support restaurateurs if we want this city to continue to offer widespread, top-notch dining, as it has for the last 10 to 15 years.

A little background on The Glass Monkey. The restaurant, located in the old Jack’s Grill, held 82 seats, and another 10 at the bar. Wine was at the forefront, with trained staff able to advise on the best grape to go with your burger, or your pasta. The food was really good, the prices were reasonable.

There were high-top tables for a casual atmosphere, but the lighting made it feel uptown. Full disclosure: my husband and I went there after playing tennis at the nearby Saville Centre because we liked being able to enjoy a good meal and glass of wine, while wearing our track pants pulled hastily over our tennis gear.

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Filipchuk says it took quite some time to get The Glass Monkey to its buzzy best, but it was pretty much there. One of the keys was to convince people that it was actually a great thing to have to wait for a bit in line (a complementary glass of prosecco helped make that palatable) or to squeeze in at the bar.

“People finally accepted that it was cool and fun to cram six people around a four-top, like in Germany, France and Italy. We worked for years, and finally in the last year or two, people thought it was cool to stand around waiting for their table, chatting with the person next to them.”

Now, with new rules around physical distance, that hard-won achievement is a thing of the past. So Filipchuk is doing something different.

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Filipchuk has made use of one of the federal government programs — the wage subsidy — to help with the evolution. This has made it possible to keep staff on and train them to do other things in the new model. He is still trying to figure out the rent subsidy available to landlords (which news reports say has problems, including not being able to entice landlords to take advantage of it for a variety of reasons).

The goal of the Glass Monkey is not to re-open in its old format.

“It’s to continue to recreate the hospitality industry, and our level of service and our connection with our great customers, at the same great quality as before. But it will look different.”

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Filipchuk says customers aren’t ready to come back inside a restaurant, but they still want good food delivered in a way that’s safe and convenient. They don’t want to make too many stops on their way home, because they are nervous. So he hopes to make The Glass Monkey a one-stop shop.

He elaborates on a future look: “I see my 3,000 square foot space turned into more of a market setting, with a wall of carefully-selected wine, a cabinet refrigerated with our vacuum-sealed charcuterie, so it looks like a nice deli or meat market. There is a bakery shelf, and perhaps the patio opens, because we’re easily able to physically distance out there, and it’s been very successful over the years.

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So maybe you have wine and charcuterie while you wait for your pick-up.”

The pick-up element is already firmly in place. Staff will drop your phoned-in order directly into your trunk at curb side.

But if you choose to walk inside The Glass Monkey today, you’ll get a glimpse of what’s to come. There are sealed quart jars of home-made soup lining a table, along with bottles of wine for staff to include in the cardboard box of food you’ve ordered in advance. Fresh sourdough bread, house-made, is now available, too.

Other options are set to expand.

“We’re learning that people want interesting options as far as food and home entertainment and a social experience. So when we looked at what might worked well moving forward, we came up with specific, themed evenings.”

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The restaurant is also moving toward dinner kits with meals that will be prepped, but give diners the option of doing some of their own cooking. The kit may contain a raw steak, some prepped raw vegetables, plus roasted nuts and marinated olives to nibble with the perfect bottle of wine while you barbecue.

Filipchuk thinks the old way of eating in restaurants may return, but he can’t wait for that. He’s pleased that government rule changes mean customers may now take out wine, beer and alcohol products (including cocktail kits).

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“That’s huge,” he says.

While he’s not looking for a silver lining in this disastrous situation, it’s also true that the crisis lead to a very special experience for Filipchuk and his family. His parents have a rural property near Smoky Lake and have always had a big garden. At this time of the year, the store of last season’s potatoes was getting soft. So Rob’s mom would make perogies.

Last week, the entire Filipchuk family, including teenagers Layla and Noah, went out to the country and made perogies, cabbage rolls and cottage cheese stuffed crepes. All the ingredients were local. Combined with Stawnichy’s Mundare sausage, the classic comfort food items made up the restaurant’s Ukrainian special earlier this week.

“Born out of necessity comes this creativity,” says Filipchuk. “It fits the mantra of our gastro pub, made from scratch from the best ingredients. But it’s also the most incredible experience I could have had with my 80-year-old mom and dad, and my 16 and 14-year-old kids. Three generations making this product and sharing the love of this industry.”

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